The invention relates generally to structural cladding apparatuses, and more particularly to such cladding apparatuses adapted for substantially enclosing or covering all, or at least a portion of, a column, pole, wall, or other such building structure, either in new construction or in renovation of existing construction.
In construction of commercial, and even residential, building structures, it is frequently found to be necessary or desirable to substantially enclose or cover all or a portion of structural building components in order to provide a neat, attractive, or up-scaled appearance. Such need or desirability occurs both in construction of new building structures and in renovation or remodeling of existing building structures. In the past, however, the components and materials required for enclosing or covering all or a portion of a building structure have not had sufficient structural strength, have been relatively expensive to manufacture, transport, and install, and have frequently lacked a neat and attractive appearance, largely due to an inordinate amount of visible, unattractive seams and to the necessity for the use of fasteners or other mounting devices that are visible in the finished installation. In addition, such conventional components or materials for such cladding and covering applications have sometimes necessitated the use of relatively expensive, highly skilled personnel for installation, and have often been unable to conveniently accommodate electrical wiring and components or signs and other displays.
In renovation or remodeling of existing building structures, the problems and disadvantages mentioned above in connection with the use of conventional cladding and covering materials and components are especially difficult to overcome. For example, the correction of existing misalignments or improper placement of existing structural components is difficult to achieve, and any desired changes in the positioning, orientation, or size of existing structural members in order to effect an upgraded appearance can present obstacles that are insurmountable or at least very difficult to overcome.
Accordingly, the present invention seeks to overcome the problems and obstacles discussed above by providing a cladding or covering apparatus adapted for substantially enclosing or covering, all or a portion of new or existing structural building members and that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, transport and install, while still providing a neat, attractive and up-scaled appearance. The cladding apparatus according to the present invention results in a minimum amount of visible seams, with no visible fasteners, while still providing a structurally sound installation. In addition, the cladding apparatus according to the present invention is easy to assemble and install by ordinary workers, using ordinary tools. The cladding apparatus according to the present invention also provides a maximum amount of adaptability when changes or corrections in existing sizes, locations, or configurations of structural building members are desired.
In accordance with the present invention, a cladding apparatus is adapted for substantially enclosing or covering at least a portion of a structure and includes at least a pair of spaced-apart elongated frame members extending generally along the structure. A number of cross members are spaced away from the structure and extend laterally between, and form an interconnection for, adjacent pairs of the corner frame members and are longitudinally spaced apart from one another. At least one cladding panel member laterally interconnects the frame members and extends longitudinally therealong in a spaced relationship with the building structure. Thus, when the frame members are mounted on, or interconnected with, the building structure, the cross members provide support for the cladding panels.
In many applications of the present invention, a number of pairs of mounting members are disposed at a generally aligned longitudinal position relative to the cross members. Each pair of the mounting members is secured to generally opposite lateral sides of the building structure, such as a column or pole for example, with each pair of mounting members laterally interconnecting a pair of the cross members, which are in turn spaced from second generally opposite sides of the column, pole, or other longitudinally-extending building structure. Preferably, the frame members have flange portions extending along their lateral sides, and the cladding panel members have angled edge portions adapted to engage the flange portions in order to secure the cladding panel to the frame members, while still allowing selective removal of the panel. Such engagement of the angled edge portions is either accomplished wholly without the need for fasteners or configured such that the angled edge portions of adjacent cladding panel members substantially obscure the fasteners from view.
In addition to the above, the cladding apparatus according to the present invention preferably includes a provision for preselectively altering the lateral positioning or angular orientation of the cladding apparatus relative to the column, pole, or other such building structure. In other applications, wherein the cladding apparatus is used to cover all or a portion of a wall, with a portion of the cladding apparatus protruding outwardly from the edge of the wall or bridging a space between adjacent spaced-apart walls, a cladding panel or other such backing panel is provided for covering the internal structural components of the cladding apparatus from view on the opposite side of the outwardly-projecting portion of the cladding structure.
Additional objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claim, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.